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The Generation of Energy by the Arginine Dihydrolase Pathway in Mycoplasma hominis 07

1966; Elsevier BV; Volume: 241; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0021-9258(18)96610-x

1083-351X

Robert Schimke, Cheston M. Berlin, E.W. Sweeney, William R. Carroll,

Virus-based gene therapy research

Abstract The nature of the energy source for a representative nonfermenting Mycoplasma, Mycoplasma hominis type II, strain 07, has been studied. The results indicate that this microorganism can obtain energy from the metabolism of arginine by the arginine dihydrolase pathway. The conversion of arginine to ornithine, with the concomitant formation of an equimolar amount of adenosine triphosphate, is quantitatively sufficient to account for the estimated energy required for synthesis of macromolecules in growing cells. Thus the results indicate that arginine may be the major source of energy, but they cannot rule out contributions to energy generation from other unknown sources. Extracts of M. hominis 07 are exceedingly rich in the three enzymes of the arginine dihydrolase pathway. Purifications and characterizations of the three enzymes have been undertaken. Arginine deiminase and ornithine transcarbamylase have been purified to an essentially homogeneous state, and have been found to constitute approximately 10 and 4% respectively, of the soluble protein of cell extracts. The physical and kinetic properties are similar to those reported for the enzymes obtained from Streptococcus.